Humans of Kathputli Colony Demolition: “Nobody Came to Our Rescue”

The demolition drive that has been going for the past few days has taken a toll on the residents.

Even though I had a rough idea of what a demolition site would look like, I was completely floored by what I saw at Kathputli Colony. It was a total mess. My heart ached to see people scavenging among the debris for what little they could find. Everyone I saw was in a state of distress. The demolition that had been ongoing for the past few days had really taken a toll on its residents.

Kathputli is a colony of artistes who settled here 30 years ago.

A Folk-Singing Rajasthani

I met Anil Bhat at a tea shop. Here was a 33-year-old man, almost in tears while describing his ordeal. A professional folk singer from Didwana district of Rajasthan, he says his mother was attacked on Wednesday night by the police.

That is why we hit back, and the clashes happened.

Anil Bhat

That is when they hit back, and the clashes happened.

“The way the police have misbehaved with the women of our colony in beyond imagination. For how long could we sit back and watch all this happening? But no media will report this, they just show one side of the story. The police used tear gas because of which a child died. Nobody came to our rescue, people hate us here.” 

He said he had the idea that since Kathputli Colony is known all over the world, when the time came, Delhi would stand with them. But that didn’t happen, and now he feels cornered, he says.

A Rocking Drummer

I noticed a man in his late twenties, with a ponytail and a long beard. He looked slightly worried. His name was Raj Kumar, a professional drummer. No wonder he had that rockstar look! He even had his own band and website, ‘The Rocking Drummers’.

He felt that Kathputli Colony was his identity as an artist. He didn’t disagree with the aim of redevelopment, but felt the implementation was inexcusable.

“You can’t throw families out of their homes just like that. There isn’t even enough space for us in the transit camp. Where do we go?”

Raj Kumar has travelled around the world, to the UAE and Europe, and even performed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. His father is a Rajasthani folk dancer who has performed in US at the Aditi Festival in 1986. He played the ‘Chang’ – a Rajasthani musical instrument and dance. But Raj Kumar and his father are now homeless in the demolition, and have been left to take shelter behind a mosque.

Raj mentioned that though the court has given a stay order on the demolition for now, nobody has the power to stop the bulldozers.

“Where Were You When They Were Destroying Our Houses?”

While I was trying to make my way deeper into the colony, I encountered a group of women sitting in protest, but not against the demolition. Surprisingly, they were in support of it, and the government.

They were extremely aggressive and physically stopped me and other mediapersons from going further in to meet more residents or take photos, even going so far as to threaten me with sticks.

Whatever the government is doing, it’s for our own good and we have nothing against them. Why have you come here now? Where were you when they were destroying our houses? We don’t want to talk to anybody about anything. Leave or you will face adverse circumstances.

One of the protesting women

It was sad to see that though their homes were destroyed by the Government, they didn’t want media to pick up their story. They are now at the mercy of the government’s plans for them.

So what are the government’s plans?

What’s in Store for Kathputli?

During his tenure as Urban Development Minister in 2009, Ajay Maken had announced the redevelopment project for Kathputli Colony. It was Delhi’s first in-situ redevelopment project in the country. This plan would include providing better housing complexes, schools, and primary healthcare centres to the residents of the colony. The Delhi government said in its master plan, that 1 hectare of land would be enough to house 600 families.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Raheja Builders struck a deal – 60% of the 5.2 hectares would be marked for rehabilitation, while 40% of it would be retained by the Rahejas to build Delhi’s tallest building – a 52-storey skyscraper of luxury flats,says ritimo.org

However, over the years, the redevelopment plan has remained what it is – just a plan.

“Here, We Are Nobody”

Sitting in an open space, looking frantically at his phone for news on the demolition, was Vicky Bhat, a 29-year-old professional puppeteer who remembers his childhood days and feels that the real jungle was so much better than this concrete jungle. His grandfather Jagdish Bhatt – an award-winning artist – now spends his time teaching children the art of puppetry. Vicky remembers learning the tricks of the trade from him, and assisting him in carrying his props around whenever they went to perform.

Vicky has been abroad about 15 times, showcasing his puppeteering talents.

The difference between how he is treated abroad and how he is treated here is stark, he says. Abroad, they are received with warmth, with fans surrounding them to get photos and autographs. But here, he is a nobody. He says even at Immigration at the airport, the officers recognise them.

“They won’t recognise a local MLA, but they recognise us and say, ‘Kathputli Colony se ho naa? (‘You’re from Kathputli Colony, right?’) This place has become our identity, how do you expect us to leave?”

He fears that puppetry is dying a slow death in India – the day isn’t too far when we will have to bring puppeteers from abroad to perform here, he says. He can’t decide whether he should now give up the profession he loves and take up a more secure means of livelihood, perhaps something corporate. But then, he says, he’ll just be called a ‘service man’, not a ‘puppeteer’.

His ancestors would perform in palaces, when the Kings returned victorious from the battlefields. His grandfather even performed with Dadi Pudumjee – a legendary puppeteer – and Birju Ji Maharaj, a famous dancer, he says. His uncle, Puran Bhatt, was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003, given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi – India’s national academy of Music, Dance & Drama – in the puppeteering category.

“Last month, we performed for PM Modi at the Talkatora stadium. We were a group of 60-70 people. There was Rajasthani dance, Gujarati dance, puppet shows, etc. When the Government wants to give a grand welcome to somebody, they remember us and as soon as it’s over, they don’t even remember ours faces. We are “Use and Throw”  material for them.”

A family that brought so many accolades to the country, is now left homeless, Vicky laments.

The Tamasha King

Moving a little further down, I met Pappu Bhat, a 55-year old man from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, who does tamasha on the streets. Tamasha means playing the harmonium and dhol while singing and entertaining crowds.

He says the residents of Kathputli are ‘multi-purpose artists’ – they build the puppets and then make them dance, too!

But the demolition has left him feeling betrayed by the government.

“There are about 4,500 families here, and the camp can only accommodate 2,500. This is cheating,” he says.

We are artists. We perform and entertain people and they kicked us out of our own house. Is this democracy? This is absolute injustice. For how long will we stay on the footpath? We are so lost – we don’t know where to go from here.

Pappu Bhatt